I grow Lyda. It is probably 6 to 7 feet tall and maybe 3.5 to 4 feet tall.... I am zone 10 Florida. It does black spot (easily) even when I spray.... I have to spray her once a week.... she can't go two weeks or she gets it.... I don't really detect much scent.... though to be fair I can never smell Fragrant Cloud and rarely Mister Lincoln.... so I think scent must be taken with a grain of salt..... I think she blooms in flushes as opposed to continuously blooming..... though if I wack half of the bush and then wait a week or so and then wack the other half I get a longer bloom cycle.... I do this only when we have a show coming up so I hopefully get blooms for the show.... otherwise I like to cut her back all at once in order to get lots of blooms on her.

@Stephanie, 9b inland SoCal The area I am contemplating placing her does only get part sun and so that is great to hear she does well for you there. Love the pictures you shared!

@sharon2079 Wow, 6-7 feet! Hopefully in my climate she wouldn’t get quite that large for the space I’m considering but I bet that is impressive in full bloom. Ugh, I was hoping that she’d be more disease resistant than that but good to know.

We don’t get blackspot in SoCal, just rust and powdery mildew on susceptible varieties.

'Lyda Rose' is one of the most fragrant roses I've ever sniffed, perhaps there is a non-fragrant clone in circulation, it has been known to happen in commerce that a non-scented rosebush provided bud-wood, to a nursery.

Lux.

I absolutely love Lyda! I have three of them. The first I planted in all day sun and it grew quickly into a 5 foot arching bush that bloomed heavily. The problem was that the blooms were washed out looking in full sun and didn't last very long.

The other two I had planted in part sun, one with morning sun and the other with afternoon sun. Both of these stayed smaller (3-4 feet, but the're still young) and the blooms lasted on the bush for ages! I had one spray that opened gradually and stayed looking beautiful for 6 weeks (this was in the autumn). It also has a stronger pink coloring on the edges in part sun.

All of my Lydas bloom in flushes until December. As far as scent goes, I must admit I've never smelled Lyda! Now I'm feeling silly! When they bloom this spring I will definitely take note of the scent.

This rose is very disease resistant for me...but I live in the perfect climate for Hybrid Musks. I don't spray and this rose never gets any blackspot here, even in part sun.

One thing I like about this rose in particular is how well it grows in a garden bed with other shrubs and perennials. It's very graceful and weaves its way around other plants. I feel like this is a rose I could put almost anywhere, with any companion plants, and it would shine.

In this first picture you can see it growing next to a hydrangea....Lyda does so well in part shade (this one gets morning sun until around 1pm)

@Rosylady (PNW zone 8) - Wow, thanks for these details and wonderful pictures of Lyda! The bed I am considering placing her in is a perennial bed where currently I have no roses - crazy, yes I know, which Is why I’m looking a rose to mix in well with the perennials well. Another rose I have been considering for the spot is guirlande d'amour.

Mine never performed well here, even when sprayed to prevent fungal disease. Without spraying, it was a small mound of leafless twigs for 11 months of the year. It has a modest scent, as I recall, but the last time I had a chance to sniff was 15 years ago; it died a couple years after I stopped applying fungicides.

I'm sure its great in some locales - just not here. (Zone 8, Willamette Valley, OR)

Sounds as though it does well in dry areas and not so much in ones with a lot of rain or humidity.

Lux - That’s great to hear your Lyda is so fragrant.

Thanks for your honest review Paul and thank you Rosefolly. I was excited when I read that it is very disease resistant but the comments in HMF provide a different story. I suspect that it would struggle in my climate but it is tempting to try.

Any similar alternatives to Lyda you would suggest?

My climate is very similar to Paul's (zone 8 PNW)...in fact, I'm rainier and wetter...and Lyda is very clean for me. I also read the comments on helpmefind and I see what you mean...people in warm humid areas have not had as much luck with disease resistance as I have had, Maybe its the cooler temps here that Lyda likes (we rarely make it over 75 in the summer).

A similar rose would be 'Ballerina' which I have grown in another garden years ago and was very pretty. I'm not sure about disease resistance though, I think it also may blackspot in some areas.